New Perspective
by gojackets77
Summary: After years of being gone from home, Giana finally returns home to La Push, where she reunites with her former friend, Sam Uley. Sam and Giana have this connection that she just can't place, but will her dark past get in the way of their relationship?
1. Chapter 1

New Perspective

"_It's not fair, just let me perfect it/ Don't wanna live a life that was comprehensive/'Cause seeing clear would be the bad idea/Now catch me up I'm getting out of here."_

—_New Perspective, Panic! At the Disco_

**Chapter 1 **

**Why Don't You Just Take My Soul, Too? **

**Giana's POV**

3, 013 miles. Fifty-two hours. That is how far and how long it takes to drive from New York to Washington State, more specifically, from Manhattan, NY, to La Push, WA. La Push? Well, it's a tiny Native American reservation in Washington. Don't worry, I never would've heard of it either, had I not been born there.

Many of you are probably wondering why I moved across the country to a little reservation from the glamorous streets of New York. The answer is simple: my mother was finally taking an interest in me twenty years after I was born, and she decided to give me her old home there. Meaning she'd lived there once, couldn't sell it, and was currently living in Hawaii. There were two reasons why I'd agreed to moving. Reason Number One—I couldn't afford to rent my apartment anymore, and this new place was completely paid off. Reason Number Two—I had been born in La Push, the house had been built by my father and was my birthright, and I missed my Native American culture.

Alright, maybe Reason Number Two was really three reasons, but they were true. I had been born in La Push, but we only lived there until I was nine. My father died not long after my ninth birthday, and everything went downhill from there. I know everything that happened, too. My mother became a drunk, moved us out of rainy, little La Push to bright and sunny New Mexico, and left my father's house to rot away in the woods so many miles away. As soon as I turned eighteen, I moved to New York, got a job at an art studio, and started my life over again. My mother moved back to La Push and completely redesigned my father's house, thus pissing me off in the process. That woman had no right to change what my father had built, but she didn't agree with me.

Oh, and did I mention that my left leg was in locked brace because I fractured my tibia and that I couldn't bend it? That made it pretty damn hard to drive across the country. Not to mention that I had to take my brace off to drive, causing my leg to hurt even more. And my pain killers were in a bag in the back of my truck.

When I finally pulled in front of my house, I was exhausted and in excruciating pain. I grabbed my brace from the passenger's seat and strapped it on before hobbling out of the truck. I had a '06 black Chevy pickup, and the drop from that is pretty far. I cursed as pain pulsed through my injured leg.

I looked up at the house. It looked so different than it had twelve years before. It used to be a one story, dark brown cottage type of house, with a tin roof and a large porch that used to bear my father's drums and parts to the one he was currently building. Now, it was still a one story, but it was painted white, the roof was no longer tin but shingled instead. The porch was gone, and in its place were flowerbeds. I couldn't look at it any longer.

It took me over an hour to get all my things into the house. That was due to the fact that it took me a while to walk with my gimp leg and because when I first stepped into the house, it took me fifteen minutes to compose myself. Once everything was inside, I began unpacking. My mother left the furnishings in the house, so all I had were suitcases and boxes. I unpacked half of my things before I literally could not stand or walk anymore. I found my hydrocodone in my bag and took one.

I was sitting at the kitchen table when I spotted a note sitting on it. It read:

Giana—

Welcome back. I know you love the new decorations. Your Uncle Charlie lives 45 minutes away in Forks. Bella lives with him now. Remember Bella? Well, you're going to hang out with her tomorrow night. She's going to First Beach with some friends from school. You'll pick her up at 7. Charlie's number is 783-9284. Call him.

—Lydia

I sighed. Of course my mother was already making plans for me. I was twenty years old; I didn't want to "hang out" with my seventeen year old cousin who I hadn't seen in six years. Bella was probably already expecting me to pick her up, and Charlie probably thought my mother cleared it with me already.

I limped over to the phone that was sitting on the counter and dialed Charlie's number.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Hey, Charlie. It's Giana."

"Giana! I haven't heard from you in years. Welcome back."

"Thanks. So, I'm picking Bella up tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah. You're fine with that, right?"

"Oh, yeah, totally. Well, I just wanted to check. I've got some phone calls to make, so I'll see you tomorrow."

"Of course."

We hung up, and I dug around the kitchen to find a phonebook. When I finally found it, I searched for the best construction agency in the area. I found a number for a place with an office in Port Angeles.

"I need someone who can put my house back like it was," I said before the person on the phone could say anything.

"How so?" the male voice on the other end of the phone said.

"Someone redid my house, and I want to do it back. It needs a porch, tin roof, and it has to be painted brown. Oh, and I need to refurnish and repaint the inside."

"Alright, I can have a few men out tomorrow if you like."

"I'm busy tomorrow. Come on Sunday?"

"Of course."

I continued to give him my name and address, along with the rest of my information. I fell asleep that night knowing that my father's house would soon be back to the way it used to be, the way it should be.

**A/N- Look you guys, it's a new story! I plan on updating this one regularly, too. So give a girl some R&R please? Oh, by the way, the story starts to make more sense pretty soon. _Jess **

**DISCLAIMER: Sadly, I do not own the pack or any Twilight characters, Steph Meyer does. I would like to own Jacob, though, but that's beside the point(; **


	2. Chapter 2

"_Slowly out of line/And drifting closer in your sights/So play it out, I'm wide awake/It's a scene about me/There's something in your way/And now someone is gonna pay/And if you can't get what you want/Well it's all because of me"_

—_You're Gonna go Far, Kid, The Offspring _

**Chapter 2**

**News Travels Fast On The Rez**

**Sam's POV**

I had just fallen asleep when Paul woke me up. I hadn't slept in days, so Paul better have a good reason for waking me up.

"Paul, I swear, you better be dying right now," I growled, keeping my eyes closed.

"Nope," was his cocky reply.

I glared up at him. "I'm tired. What do you want?"

"There's a new girl on the rez. Well, she's moving in tomorrow."

"Why do I care?"

"Just thought you should know. She's living at Chaske's old place."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I can't believe Lydia has a kid either. That woman's a major bitch; her daughter must be worse."

"I remember her…um, Gia-something-or-other. She left right before I turned twelve."

"And you remember her?"

"It was only eleven years ago, dumbass."

"Someone's not in a good mood."

I glared.

"_Right,"_ he said, "Well, I'll just go find some food and leave. You can sleep now."

I rolled my eyes at him before falling asleep again.

When I woke, it felt as if I had only slept an hour. In reality, it had been about twenty-four hours. As always, though, Paul and Jared were scarfing down my food in the kitchen.

"Don't you ever go home to eat?" I snapped.

"Nope," they replied in unison.

"So, the Meraz girl gets here tonight," Jared said, looking at me expectantly.

"What's with the face, Jared?" I asked.

He shook his head. I slapped him upside it.

"What'd I do?" he whined.

"You're being a smartass," I said simply. "Kim won't like it."

"Oh, ha-ha. _Very funny_. You know, I'm so going to make fun of you when you imprint and she doesn't know you exist."

"Kim has no idea who you are because you won't talk to her," Paul muttered.

"I've talked to her!"

"When?"

"I…I have. I've talked to her…"

"Sure you have."

"Look, Paul—"

"Stop it, both of you," I ordered. "I'm going to patrol."

"Check out the Meraz girl for me?" Paul asked.

"In your dreams, Paul."

"You have to pass her house anyway."

I just sighed and walked out the house.

Patrol was boring, as usual. There were never any bloodsuckers around, aside from those filthy Cullens. Still, I ran up the mountains and then back down around the rez. I ran passed Chaske Meraz's old house just as a black truck pulled in front of it. I decided I should at least get a look at the new girl. For protection reasons, of course. I mean, I needed to know everyone on the rez to make sure they were alright. All a part of being Alpha of the pack.

After a minute or so, she jumped out the car. Well, jumped isn't exactly the right word. She sort of fell out. There was a big ass brace on her left leg, keeping it stiff as a board.

"Shit fucker," she muttered, grasping her leg.

I figured she was in pain.

She glanced up, and it was if everything around me stopped. In a split second, I noticed every small aspect about her. She wasn't tall, but she wasn't short either, standing at about five-foot-six-inches tall. I could just envision her fitting right in my arms, her head resting under my chin. Her black hair reached her lower back, and it fell like feathers around her dark russet-golden skin. Her green eyes were glazed over as she stared at the house. She was dressed in a pair of ripped and bleached jeans and a black and grey plaid shirt. A twisted copper ring fit on her right index finger. I could make out part of a tattoo on her collar bone.

A soft gust of wind blew her scent to me, also causing her long hair to blow in the wind like a Quileute goddess. She smelled of vanilla, coconut, and sweet apples.

Holy crap. I just imprinted. My soul mate was a girl whose name I didn't even know. Shit. Jared was going to love this.

_~o0o~_

"You imprinted on her?" Jared laughed.

I growled at him. "Shut up, Jared," I snarled.

"Dude, you don't even know her name!" He spoke between laughs.

"Shut up!"

I was shaking violently now, and my vision burned red with rage. How dare Jared make fun of my tormenting like this? I let out a low, feral growl, and bared my teeth at him. Jared, and even Paul, took a step back from me.

"Whoa, Sam, he's just messing with you," Paul said, trying to calm the situation.

Since when did Paul become the peacemaker? Something really had to be wrong if _Paul _was telling _me _to be calm; he had the worse temper out of all three of us.

"Yeah, man, I'm just messing with you," Jared stammered. "I mean, I feel for you. At least Kim knows my name, but _you_ don't even know who this chick is."

Jared started laughing again, so I grabbed him and pinned him against the wall. He looked scared shitless.

"You think this is funny?" I growled. "You think it's funny that I don't even know her name? Because it's not funny, Jared! You know Kim's name at least! I know nothing about my angel…"

I let go of Jared as my own words sunk in. I really knew _nothing_ about her, aside from the fact that her mother was bitch and her father was dead. I couldn't even remember her first name. All I knew was that she was beautiful, and she smelled heavenly. Fuck, I sounded like a freak.

"Hey, Sam, it'll be okay," Jared mumbled. "Just go talk to her tomorrow."

"Alright," I decided. "But you have to talk to Kim, too."

**a/n- so there's chapter 2. how do you like it so far? r&r, por favor? _Jess**


	3. Chapter 3

"_Dream the same thing every night/I see our freedom in my sight/No locked doors, no windows barred/No things to make my brain seem scarred."_

—_Welcome Home, Metallica_

**Chapter 3**

**Beachside Babysitting and Finding Old Friends**

**Giana's POV**

_A repetitive knocking on the door wakes me from my deep slumber. I grudgingly walk to the door, wiping the sleep from my eyes. Another, louder knock makes me scowl._

"_Who is it?" I ask._

_No answer. _

"_Who is it?" I ask again._

_Still, no answer. I think on it for a while before opening the door. My parents stand in the doorway. My father has his arm around my mother's waist and a smile on his face. Something looks wrong, though. Still, I let them inside, and we enter the living room._

"_So…Mom, Dad…What time is it?" I ask._

_They don't answer. My father looks as if he wants to, but he can't will his mouth to form the words._

"Okay_, um, why are you here?" I ask._

"_What—do you not want us to visit?"_

"_No, I—"_

"_You ungrateful child! Just like your father! You can never just appreciate what you have!"_

_Suddenly, she grips my father by his throat, and he starts gasping for hair. The color drains from his flesh, and he falls to the floor, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. He's dead._

"_And you!" my mother turns her glare to me. "You'll end up just like him!"_

_Her hand darts out to grab my throat—_

And I wake up.I was covered in a cold sheen of sweat, and my body was trembling terribly. Tears ran down my face, and a few drops fell into my mouth when I gasped upon awakening. I was used to all of this now, though. I had the same dream, night after night; nothing could make it go away.

The bright red dialogue numbers next to me read 3:56AM. I let out a groan, for I knew there was no way I'd be able to fall back asleep. Instead of sleeping, I decided on taking a shower to relax my muscles a bit. I let the hot water run down my back, easing my tension and stress. I had to end up sitting down on the tub's bottom because of the pain in my leg. I stayed sitting in the shower until the once hot water ran down my body.

That morning ran in a blur. After my shower, I got dressed and curled up in my bed, draped in half a dozen blankets. At around five in the morning, I drove over to a diner that I remembered from my childhood, and after that, I started unpacking at home. By noon, I was an epitome of the walking dead, my eyes half closed from sleep. I spent the remainder of the day curled in a ball, with my left leg stuck out, lying in the soft heap of blankets on my bed.

I didn't normally spend my days like this when I was in New York. The nightmare was nothing new to me; it happened every night. I guess it was the fact that I was back in La Push that made that nightmare seem so surreal. It was as if that by being there, my father would be at my side when I awoke in tears, and he would assure me that it was all just a dream. But I couldn't hope for that anymore, and being at home didn't atone for my far-fetched hopes. My father was dead, and my mother hated me. There was nothing more to it.

That night, I drove to Bella's and Charlie's house to pick Bella up. It was pretty windy out, so I dressed in a pair of dark skinny jeans, and long-sleeved thermal, and a black bomber jacket. I pulled on my Chucks and strapped on my brace before hobbling out to the truck. Of course, I had to pull the brace off to get my leg to fit between the seat and the pedals. The forty-five minute drive seemed like pure agony to me, though.

Once I got to Bella's house, I strapped my brace back on and limped to the front door.

"Giana!" Charlie exclaimed, embracing me in a hug.

I chuckled. "Hey, Charlie. Long time no see."

"What happened to your leg?"

"Oh, I fractured my tibia."

"You should've told me that! I wouldn't have made you drive over here if you were hurt."

"It's fine, Charlie. Um, where's Bella?"

"She's just finishing getting ready. Thanks for doing this, by the way. I'm glad I have someone to watch Bella, make sure she's alright."

"Yes, sir, I can do that."

He smiled. "We missed you around here, Giana. I'm really glad you're back. Maybe now you'll remember your family a bit more?"

"Yes, I will."

"Good. Remember me, too."

I chuckled. Charlie wasn't my real uncle, but he'd known my father, and the two of them had been really close. He and Bella were like family to me.

"You know I consider you family, Charlie," I said.

"I know, but I just wanted to make sure."

Bella walked down the stairs then, looking kind of nervous. She smiled when she saw me.

We exchanged pleasantries before telling Charlie goodbye and going back to my truck.

"I'm sorry about your leg," she apologized after we'd been driving for a few minutes in silence."

"_You_ didn't fracture it; don't apologize," I said simply. "_So_, I have to keep an eye on you all night, so don't do anything dangerous. Got it?"

She nodded. "Don't worry, danger isn't really my thing."

The rest of the ride was taken in silence. When we finally got to First Beach, Bella reluctantly got out the car to join her friends. A guy with spiky blonde hair was showing her how to make a driftwood fire when I limped to them.

"Oh, you must be Bella's cousin," the kid said, smiling up at me.

I nodded as I sat down. "Yup," I answered simply.

"I'm Mike Newton."

"I'm four years older than you."

An Asian guy started laughed. "Oh, burn," he laughed.

I sighed and lay back, resting my head on one of the logs sitting around the fire.

_This is going to be loads of fun_, I thought sarcastically, _Babysitting teenagers is exactly what I wanted to do on my first day back home. _

Not long after we got there, a group of natives joined us. Among them, were three guys who looked about my age, give or take a year or two. I was thankful that I wasn't the only one who was legally of age there.

"Hey, Giana, I'm going to go on a walk with Jacob," Bella told me.

I looked up at her. Standing by her side was a tallish boy with long black hair pulled back in a ponytail.

"Hi, I'm Jacob Black," he said.

_Jacob Black? _I used to babysit Jacob before I moved.

"Is your dad Billy?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, he talks about your dad all the time."

I sighed. "Alright, just don't let her fall or anything. Charlie will freak."

He laughed. "Sure, sure."

The two walked away, talking amongst one another. One of the three older guys walked up to me then.

"Hey, Giana Meraz, right?" he asked.

"That's me," I answered. "You are?"

"Sam Uley. I—"

"_Sam?_ Like, the same Sam Uley I grew up with—sort of grew up with?"

"That's me." He chuckled.

I stood up, holding my arms out to balance myself. Sam wrapped an arm around my waist and helped me steady myself. I wrapped him in a hug.

"Why didn't I think of calling you?" I thought aloud as I stood back and looked up at him.

He was tall, a lot taller than me. He couldn't be under six-feet tall. His deep brown—almost black—eyes accented his russet tanned skin, and his black hair was cropped just above his ears. He wore only a pair of jean cut-offs, which hung low on his hips. His chest was sculpted perfectly, six pack, Pecs, the works. I tore my eyes away from ogling his fantastic body to gaze into the deep pools of his eyes.

"You just moved in last night, right?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah. Did you see what Lydia did to my father's house? She's insane!"

"Yeah, yeah, I saw that. We tried to talk her out of it, even."

"Crazy bitch never listens. She just doesn't know that she'll be paying for it to be redone again."

"And how does that work?"

"Well, she's probably at bar down in Hawaii, so if she's drunk enough, she'll agree to anything."

He laughed, a sound that rang musical in my ears.

"So, what brings you out here? I'd think you would be unpacking," he asked, "Or, at least lying down. What happened to your leg?"

"Oh, I fractured my tibia," I said, shrugging.

"And she's watching _Bella_ tonight," one of Bella's so-called friends drawled.

"What's that supposed to mean, kid?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Oh, nothing, nothing. Just, _everyone _loves Bella. She's the shiny new toy in Forks."

She turned and looked at Sam. After undressing him with her eyes, she walked to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. For some reason, this made me extremely jealous. I glared at her.

"I'm sorry, who are you again?" I snapped, grabbing her hood and pulling her off of Sam. Sam seemed pretty happy about that, by the way.

"Who are _you_ again?" she sneered, "Because to me, you just look like some annoying little New Yorker who has a horrible tan and shouldn't be here."

Sam glared down at the girl, as did I look.

"Look, kid—" I began.

"Don't talk to her like that," Sam growled, "And get out of here, kid. You don't know what you're doing."

"_Kíka."_

He wrapped an arm around my shoulders. His skin was burning hot, and he was shaking slightly. The girl walked away quickly.

"I hate kids," I groaned. "Horrible tan? The dumbass doesn't know what Native skin looks like, does she?"

Sam just nodded. He was rigid, still slightly shaking.

"Hey, you alright?" I asked, looking up at him.

"I'm fine," he lied.

I didn't push it, though. He took his arm from around me as his two friends walked up.

"Hi, I'm Paul," one said as the other one introduced himself as Jared.

"Giana," I answered, smiling.

"So, that's your name," Jared snickered.

Sam smacked him upside the head, causing him to mumble an apology. I laughed.

The four of us started talking about how things had changed on the rez, but Bella interrupted us after a few minutes.

"Um, Giana?" she murmured.

I looked at her. She looked confused. "What happened?" I asked.

"Nothing. I just, um, can we go home?"

I sighed. "Yeah, go get in the truck. I'll be there in a minute."

Bella slowly walked back to my truck. I turned back to Sam.

"It was great seeing you again, but I have to drive Bella home," I explained.

"With your leg like that? I'll drive her," he offered.

"Oh, you don't have to do that, Sam. I just drove across country, I can—Scratch that, I just drove across the fucking country; I don't need to drive forty-five minutes to Forks. Would you mind?"

He smiled. "Not at all. Let's go."

We started walking to my truck. Halfway there, Sam lifted my arm up around his shoulders and wrapped his around my waist.

"You shouldn't walk on that leg," he said as we started walking again.

"Well, I can't just sit at home all day," I stated simply.

"How much longer do you need to wear that?"

"I have to schedule a doctor's appointment for two weeks from now, and they'll tell me if it's better. So, I'm not sure."

I had to pause for a minute because of the pain that shot through my leg. Sam sighed and picked me up bridal style, cradling me in his arms, causing me to laugh.

"Sam!" I exclaimed, still laughing.

"You can't walk like that, so I'm carrying you," he stated as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

I just laughed again, and he carried me the rest of the way to my truck. Bella quickly crawled over to the backseat so Sam could set me down in the passenger's seat.

"Why thank you, Mr. Uley," I teased.

"My pleasure, Miss Meraz," he played along.

I laughed. "Oh, do you want to help when I redo the house?"

"Yeah, sure thing. No problem."

"Thanks. I want to at least honor my father, you know? Lydia never should've done that to his house."

"Chaske was a good man, Giana. You should take pride in being his daughter."

I hadn't been spoken to of my father's death in years; hell, I hadn't spoken of him in general since God knows when.

"I do every day, Sam, every day. … Not a day goes by that I don't think about what would have happened if hadn't died."

Sam just nodded and left me to my thoughts. The drive to Bella's place remained in silence; all the while I was contemplating my life. Things would have been so much different if Father hadn't died. My mother never would've become a drunk, nor would she have moved me away from my home on the rez. I would have had the life of the typical girl on the rez: I would've grown up listening to my tribe's legends every night; I would have gotten into fixing cars, like every guy on the rez does; Father would have taught me how to make a drum, and I wouldn't have had to learn how to on my own. My life would have been better. I would have learned so much about my heritage. My father's house wouldn't have been turned into the monstrosity that my mother managed to turn it into. I wouldn't be constantly shaken by gruesome nightmares every night.

"Giana?" Sam's deep, gentle voice yanked me out of my reverie.

My head snapped up, and my eyes met his. We stayed like that for a moment, for I couldn't seem to be able to tear my eyes away from his.

"Aɫilàchid?" he murmured.

I shook my head. "Tsaɫili."

I shivered from the cold wind that blew in from the rolled down window. I then realized that we were parked in front of Bella's house, and Bella was just closing the front door. I groaned.

"Fuck," I sighed.

"What's wrong, honey?" he asked.

"I completely just fucked that up."

"You didn't, Gi. She was off in her own little world, too."

He pulled out the driveway and started driving back towards La Push. He'd rolled the window up, but I was still freezing.

"You know, I'm pretty warm over here," Sam offered with a chuckle.

I scooted over to him and allowed him to wrap his arm around me. He was beyond warm; this man was _hot_ (both figuratively and literally). I didn't ask about his temperature, though, because he seemed unfazed by it.

"So, are you alright?" Sam asked quietly after we'd been driving in silence for a while.

I shrugged. "I'm fine. I was just…thinking," I murmured.

"You sure?"

"No, not really, but I'll be fine."

His arm tightened around me, causing me to snuggle closer to him. In that moment, I knew there was a reason that I'd come home, a real reason why I dragged myself back to the rez. And I was determined to figure it out.

**a/n- so i know that no one is reading this, but i like to post. thanks, gillie! _Jess**


	4. Chapter 4

**a/n- ok, i wanna thank gillie,** **natsumi456, and immy for reviewing this. thankyouthankyouthankyou, new best friends! 3 oh, and just so y'all know, a lot of Giana's character is based on me. like the sleeping thing, for instance. and the gimp leg, but i'm out of my brace now(: anyway, on with the chapter. r&r por favor, s'il vous plaît, per favore. please? _Jess**

"_I recall driving home, this ain't gonna hit me till God knows when/You know I feel it in my bones and I wear it on my skin/But there ain't no use in right or wrong/A heart must go where it belongs"_

—_Twilight, Thriving Ivory_

**Chapter 4**

**In Most Situations, There Is Only Bad News…Well, Depending On The Perspective**

**Sam's POV**

We were at First Beach at around seven at night, and Jared was hiding from Kim again. A lot of people from Forks were going to First Beach that night, as well, so we used the opportunity to keep an eye out on things. Not to mention that none of us minded having to skip patrol; there were no leeches out there, anyway. My Angel left her house at around six o'clock. Let me get things straight: I was _not _stalking her, or watching her, or any perverted, weird thing like that. I was running past her house when she left. Alright, I wasn't really just running past. I needed to make sure My Angel was safe.

Anyway, Kim was sitting with a few other girls at First Beach, and Paul and I were trying to convince Jared to grow a pair and talk to her.

"Talk to her!" I urged Jared, slightly pushing him to where Kim was standing.

"Yeah, Jared, stop being a wuss and go talk to her," Paul said. "I mean, the worst she can do is turn you down." His words turned into laughter at the end.

Jared glared at him. "That's it; I'm not doing it," he decided, crossing his arms.

"Oh, come on, man," Paul whined.

I chuckled. Paul was having too much fun with this.

"No, you guys are being jackasses," Jared complained.

"Jared, stop wussing out and go talk to her," I told him.

He sighed. "Fine."

He reluctantly walked over to Kim. He cleared his throat awkwardly when he stood behind her. She looked up at him, and her cheeks instantly burned bright red.

"Hi," she murmured quietly.

"Hi," Jared said awkwardly. He reminded me of one of those dorks in movies who finally talks to the head cheerleader. It was hilarious. "I'm Jared," he added.

"I know. I'm Kim." She smiled up at him sheepishly.

"I know."

They both just stared at each other for a while.

"Talk to her!" Paul and I yelled at the same time two of Kim's friends yelled, "Talk to him!"

The four of us laughed, causing Jared's and Kim's faces to flame red under their dark Native skin.

"Wanna go for a walk?" Jared asked, only look at Kim.

She nodded her head furiously and let Jared help her stand up. The two of them walked down towards Third Beach, and I couldn't help but notice how Jared's hand lingered so closely to hers.

I wondered if I would be like that when I saw My Angel (I'd grown to calling her that since I didn't know her name). I wondered if I would act like the love sick puppy Jared was acting like, if I would turn into an awkward, pathetic excuse for a twenty-three-year-old man.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Paul asked, waving a hand in front of my face which I swatted away.

"I'm thinking," I snapped.

"About the Meraz girl?"

"She has a name."

"Yeah, but you don't know it. Oh, wait, she's _Your Angel_."

I glared at him, smacking him upside the head as I walked passed him.

"Hey!" he called. "Where are you going?"

"Away from your smart ass!" I called back.

_"Was ťaxaḳʷàsi!" _**(quileute for: "not so hot!")**

I just scoffed and kept walking. I ended up walking down to Third Beach and back six times before Paul ran up to me.

"Come on, Sam," he whined, grabbing my wrist and pulling me toward First Beach.

"What?" I growled. I liked just walking around aimlessly. Sure, it was pretty pointless if you thought about it, but it cleared my mind.

"You're girl's here!"

Those three words caused me to run down to First Beach. Paul had to remind me to keep a somewhat human pace, something I'd forgotten about the second those three words passed his lips. When we got to the beach, Jared was waiting there with a smart little smirk on his face.

"Look who's here," he teased in a sing-song voice.

"Does Kim know you're gay?" I snapped.

He glared. "We have a date next weekend, just so you know."

Paul nudged my arm and nodded to a group of teenagers from Forks. Sitting down, head resting on a log, was My Angel. Her long hair was twisted into two braids, wiped away from her gorgeous face completely. And she was staring at Jared, Paul, and I.

"She's totally checking you out, dude," Paul snickered.

I didn't really care, though; I was too busy looking at _her_. She looked away to respond to something one of those teenage boys said. Laughter erupted from the group, and I saw her roll her eyes. I chuckled.

"You look like a stalker, Sam," Paul told me. "Stop staring at her."

"Why don't you go talk to her, Sam?" Jared mocked.

I glared at him. "Stop acting so macho because you finally grew a pair and talked to Kim," I snapped.

"What—did you forget our deal already? I talked to Kim, even got a date. You saw it. Now go talk to _Your Angel_."

"My joke," Paul said, raising his hand.

"Stop acting immature, you two," I snapped.

"_We're_ acting immature?" Jared asked. "Go talk to her."

Bella Swan walked over to her, Jacob Black trailing behind her.

"Hey, Giana, I'm going on a walk with Jacob," Bella explained.

_Giana._ That was her name! Giana. A beautiful name, which matched her so perfectly.

Why was the Swan girl telling Giana where she was going? Was Giana watching her, or something?

Swan and Jacob walked away, and by then, Jared and Paul were getting annoyed with me.

"Go on," they urged, shoving me towards her.

I glared at them before walked over to her.

"Hey, Giana Meraz, right?" I asked, gazing down at her.

"That's me," she replied as she looked up at me. "You are?"

"Sam Uley. I—"

"Sam? Like, the same Sam Uley I grew up with—sort of grew up with?"

"That's me."

She chuckled, and I swear my heart skipped a beat. I know I sound like a chick, but this woman's laugh tinkled like bells.

She attempted to stand up, but it looked more like she was setting up for herself to fall down again. She put her arms out like a tightrope walker to steady herself, but I wrapped my arm around her waist and steadied her posture. She instantly wrapped her tiny little arms around me in a hug. I froze, not knowing what to do. I was more shocked that she was actually hugging me, really, though.

"Why didn't I think of calling you?" she whispered. I didn't know if I was meant to hear her outspoken thoughts, but my oversensitive werewolf hearing made me.

She pulled back from her hug all too soon, but I wasn't ready to complain; at least she'd hugged me. She looked up at me, taking me in, I assumed. She stared at me for a while, pausing at my eyes in particular.

"You just moved in last night, right?" I asked as I was smiling from pride on the inside.

"Oh, yeah. Did you see what Lydia did to my father's house? She's _insane!_"

"Yeah, yeah, I saw that. We tried to talk her out of it, even."

"Crazy bitch never listens. She just doesn't know that she'll be paying for it to be redone again."

"And how does that work?"

"Well, she's probably at bar down in Hawaii, so if she's drunk enough, she'll agree to anything."

I laughed, and she seemed enthralled by the sound of it, which just caused me to laugh more. The thought then came to my mind of why she was at the beach only the second day she was back home. I thought she would at least be at home resting from that leg of hers.

"So, what brings you out here? I'd think you would be unpacking," I asked, giving voice to my thoughts, "Or, at least lying down. What happened to your leg?"

"Oh, I fractured my tibia," she answered with a shrug.

I felt my eyes get wide. I may not have been a doctor, but as far as I knew, a fractured tibia wasn't something to just shrug off. I'd fractured mine when I was fourteen from jumping a fence and missing. I was stuck in one of those leg braces and a pair of crutches for a month, and I had been in a hell of a lot of pain. Honestly, I spent more time cursing out that damn fence than I did just shrugging about it.

I was about to ask her how she'd done it when a stuck-up-looking girl sneered, "And she's watching _Bella _tonight."

"What's that supposed to mean, kid?" Giana demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. She looked beyond pissed, and some tiny, deeply-hidden part of memory told me that Giana's temper could be set off like a match.

"Oh, nothing, nothing. Just, _everyone _loves Bella. She's the shiny new toy in Forks."

The girl turned her eyes to me. I instantly felt uncomfortable as her eyes looked me up and then back down, like I was a piece of meat to her. She sauntered over to me before wrapping her arms around my waist. I wanted to push her away from me, especially because My Angel was standing right there.

Just as I was going to do so, Giana snapped at her, "I'm sorry, who are you again?"

She grabbed the hood of the girl's jacket and pulled her off of me. I visibly relaxed, but my glare remained on this annoying, stuck-up teenage girl.

"Who are _you_ again?" the girl sneered, "Because to me, you just look like some annoying little New Yorker who has a horrible tan and shouldn't be here."

My glare hardened, and from the corner of my eye, I saw Giana doing the same. I couldn't believe what this girl was saying. Did she not know Native skin? My Giana was beautiful in every way; she didn't have a fake tan, and she was no way in hell a New Yorker. She had flawless golden Native skin, and she was a pure blooded Quileute, not some pale-faced New York girl. This…this bitchy teenager had no right to tell My Angel any of this.

"Look, _kid_—"Giana began.

"Don't talk to her like that," I growled out at the girl, "And get out of here, kid. You don't know what you're doing."

"_Kíka." _**(quileute for: "go away, get away from me, get outta here")**

I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, despite how badly my body was shaking from rage. I deepened my glare at the girl before she all but ran away in fear. I was proud that Giana knew Quileute, though, even as I let my glare scare the girl away.

_Good_, I thought, _You should run away from me. I'm a monster; you should keep running before I turn on you._

"I hate kids," she groaned. "Horrible tan? The dumbass doesn't know what Native skin looks like, does she?"

I just let myself nod, not really paying attention to her words. I was still far too pissed off at how that girl just treated My Angel.

"Hey, you alright?" she asked as she gazed up at me.

I didn't want to lie to her, but what was I supposed to say? "No, I just wanted to kill that girl for treating you like that, and I'm a monster. Oh, and you're my soul mate"? So instead, I lied, "I'm fine."

Jared and Paul must have sensed my anger, because they walked over to us then. I took my arm from around Giana's shoulders, instantly feeling empty without her. Paul introduced himself the same time Jared did.

A smile spread across Giana's face. She gave them her name, and Jared snickered, "So, that's your name."

I smacked the back of his head, so he mumbled a quiet, "Sorry." Giana laughed at him, just making Jared even more annoyed with the two of us. I didn't care, though, as long as he didn't piss off My Angel.

We began telling Giana about how the rez had changed in the thirteen years since she'd left. I still didn't know where she had left to, aside from the fact that she came from New York when she moved back. Not ten minutes had passed before the Swan girl came back, looking nervous and uneasy.

"Um, Giana?" she murmured.

Giana looked up at her and instantly knew that something wasn't right. "What happened?" she asked, acting like the girl's mother.

"Nothing. I just, um, can we go home?"

She let out a long, sad sigh. "Yeah, go get in the truck. I'll be there in a minute."

Bella slowly slumped off towards Giana's black pickup, and as she did, Giana turned back to me with a melancholy expression on her gorgeous face.

"It was great seeing you again, but I have to drive Bella home," she told me, a grimace on her face.

How was she able to drive with her leg locked in place? Surely it couldn't have been easy.

"With your leg like that? I'll drive her," I offered. Sure, I didn't really want to spend forty-five minutes in a car with Bella Swan, but I would do anything to keep Giana out of pain.

"Oh, you don't have to do that, Sam. I just drove across country, I can—Scratch that, I just drove across the fucking country; I don't need to drive forty-five minutes to Forks. Would you mind?"

I smiled at her sense of humor. "Not at all. Let's go."

We began the walk back to her truck. Well, I walked, and Giana just sort of hobbled next to me. I had to fix my pace to a dreadfully slow walk so that I wouldn't be too far ahead of her. Halfway to her truck, I realized that it must be paining her to walk, even if she was limping. I leaned down to her height so I could lift her arm around my shoulder before wrapping mine around her waist. It just felt so right, the way my arm snaked perfectly around her tiny little frame.

She gave me a slightly confused look, to which I answered, "You shouldn't walk on that leg."

"Well, I can't just sit at home all day," she stated simply after we started sort of walking again.

"How much longer do you need to wear that?" I didn't want her to be in pain any longer.

"I have to schedule a doctor's appointment for two weeks from now, and they'll tell me if it's better. So, I'm not sure."

Just then, she froze and grabbed her injured leg. A pained expression was etched across her face, and it hurt me to see her like that. I waited a minute before she almost attempted walking again. By almost, I mean that I grabbed her up in my arms before she could attempt again. She let out her adorable laugh and wrapped her arms around my neck. I couldn't help but notice that she cuddled up to my chest. I was filled with warmth when she did that.

"Sam!" she cried out in laughter.

"You can't walk like that, so I'm carrying you," I told her simply, but with a smile still on my lips.

This simply made Giana laugh even harder, and I joined in. The way her laugh rang in my ears made me want to just listen to her laughter forever. When we got to her truck, I opened the passenger side door and slid her into the seat as soon as Bella crawled into the back.

"Why thank you, Mr. Uley," Giana joked, smirking up at me.

I smiled. "My pleasure, Miss Meraz," I said, playing along with her little joke.

She laughed that beautiful laugh again. Suddenly, an expression hit her face as if she'd just remembered something extremely important. "Oh, do you want to help when I redo the house?"

"Yeah, sure thing. No problem."

"Thanks. I want to at least honor my father, you know? Lydia never should've done that to his house."

I wondered if I should take the risk at bringing up her father. I didn't know if he was a touchy topic to speak to her about. I decided on simply saying, "Chaske was a good man, Giana. You should take pride in being his daughter."

"I do every day, Sam, every day. … Not a day goes by that I don't think about what would have happened if he hadn't died."

Her voice was solemn when she spoke this, and I instantly knew that I'd struck some long-hidden memories and thoughts.

_Alright, he father isn't a good topic for discussion. Remember that._

I started worrying about her when she didn't speak for twenty minutes. I pulled over to make sure she was alright.

"Giana?" I asked.

She did nothing, gave no sign that she'd even heard me. I didn't know if she had, though. I looked at her face, and in her eyes I knew that she was in another world, lost in her thoughts. I cursed at myself for speaking about her father. I should've known better than to bring Chaske up with her. Her face gave no expressions of sadness or remorse, but it showed a blank expression instead. She looked like a zombie, in the best way to put it. Her eyes were her only facial feature that showed emotion, and in them I saw all of her sadness. There were no tears in them, though. Just raw emotion.

"I should've known better," I muttered to myself.

"It's not your fault," Bella murmured from the back seat. "None of us know what to do when she gets like that. It's been years since I've seen her, but she visited Rene and me three years ago down in Phoenix. Rene just brought up her dad's name briefly, but Giana just shut herself out from the rest of us after that. Rene didn't even know what she'd done. Giana isn't exactly…at terms with Chaske's death, I guess. I mean, he was her father."

"She's done this before?"

"She does it a lot, whenever someone just brings up her dad in random conversation. It isn't your fault. Lydia wasn't really _supportive_ of Giana after Chaske died."

"What do you mean? It wasn't a week after Chaske's death when they moved. None of us knew what happened."

"Lydia became a drunk. She would damn Chaske to hell day after day, night after night. It was really hard for Giana."

I looked deep into Giana's cold, hard eyes. "I'm so sorry, My Angel," I whispered. "I'll make sure nothing hurts you again."

I continued driving towards Forks again. Bella gave me the directions to her house, but aside from that, the ride was suffered in silence. I spent the time engrossed in my thoughts and worrying about Giana.

"Oh, it's this one," Bella said, pointing to what I assumed to be her house.

I knew that Giana wouldn't move to let Bella out, so I did so. Bella hugged Giana tight and kissed the top of her head.

"I love you, Gi-Gi," Bella murmured to her. "It'll be okay."

Bella continued walking to her house as I got back in the truck. I rolled down my window.

"Bella!" I called. She looked back at me. "Call me if anything ever happens with Giana when I'm not there. You can get my number from Billy."

She just nodded, but I knew she was going to keep to her word. Well, keep to her nod. I turned my attention back to My Angel.

"Giana?" I whispered, leaning close to her.

This seemed to snap her out of wherever her thoughts had taken her, and her head jerked up so that he eyes met mine. We simply stared into each other's eyes for minutes, for Giana seemed to not know what to say. Finally, I looked away, embarrassed for staring at her like some sort of freak.

I knew that she spoke Quileute, so I murmured the question, _"Aɫilàchid?" _**(quileute for: "what are you doing?")**

She just shook her head. _"Tsaɫili." _**(quileute for: i'm not doing anything")**

She shivered then, and I realized that the wind from the rolled down window must be freezing her. My freakish werewolf body temperature didn't detect the cold. A look of realization struck Giana's features, and she groaned.

_"Fuck_," she let out in a sigh.

"What's wrong, honey?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

"I completely just fucked that up."

She was upset about Bella. "You didn't, Gi. She was off in her own little world, too."

I wasn't exactly lying, though. Aside from Bella's and my conversation, she had been lost in her own thoughts, as Giana and I had been doing.

"You know, I'm pretty warm over here," I offered, chuckling, since Giana looked beyond freezing.

She scooted over till she was now sitting next to me, her legs curled under her and her head almost resting on my chest. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to me.

I had to ask, though. "So, are you alright?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm fine. I was just…thinking," she answered quietly.

"You sure?"

"No, not really, but I'll be fine."

Instinctively, my arm tightened around her. I didn't know what this sweet angel had been through, but I was going to make up for it all. I was going to make sure that she was never sad, that she always had the best for her.

But before I could do any of this, I had to break it off with Leah.

_~o0o~_

"Who is she?" Leah demanded the moment I stepped into her room.

"What?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow. Maybe it would be best to play stupid for a while.

"Don't act stupid, Samuel! Who the hell was that cripple girl at the beach?"

Okay, playing stupid wasn't the best idea. "Excuse me?"

"Samuel Levi Uley! Tell me what is going on with you. You didn't call me at all yesterday, you didn't stop by like you always do every night, and now today you're prancing around the beach with some crippled new girl. What the fuck is going on?"

"Look, Leah, don't talk about her like that—"

"Oh, so, what—you're _in love_ with her now, or something?"

_Yes. _I let out a sigh. "Leah, this just…this can't work anymore."

She knew the words were going to come, yet the second they passed my lips, her face fell. She looked as shattered as I knew her heart now was.

"Sam," she whispered, "Please, don't do this."

"I don't have a choice, Le-Le…"

"But you do! Please, Sam—"

"This is killing me right now, can't you see that? I can't be with you anymore. I'm sorry."

"It's killing _you_? _It's killing me!_ Why, Sammy? Why do you have to do this to me?"

I shook my head and wrapped my arms around her in one final hug. "I'll always love you, Le-Le."

"Then don't do this—"

"Shh. I'll love you tomorrow as much as I do today, it just won't be the same kind of love. But I _will_ love you, and _I do love you_. Never forget that, Leah."

I kissed her forehead and tried not to notice the tears that were streaming down her cheeks.

"Please, Sammy…" she sobbed.

"Goodbye, Leah. I love you."

I left her room and then her house before she could say anymore to me. I could still hear her crying from her room.

"I'll always love you, too, Sammy," I heard her cry.

_Damn these werewolf senses. _

I ran the rest of the way home, trying to get as far away from the Clearwater house as possible. You know, people lie. There never is no good news and bad news, at least not to one person. To Leah, she only received bad news. I guess I got both, though. My good news: I'd met the love of my life, my imprint, my soul mate. My bad news: I'd just broken my first love's heart.


	5. Chapter 5

"_When it's time to live and let die/And you can't get another try/Something inside this heart has died/You're in ruins"_

—_21 Guns, Green Day_

**Chapter 5**

**You Know You're Getting Desperate When You Start Calling Up Friends From Eleven Years Ago **

**Giana's POV**

The red numbers flashing next to my bed told me that it was four in the morning. Again, I had been woken by that damn nightmare. I don't know why it bothered me so much then, since it had become a sort of morning ritual in New York. I would wake up shaking and in tears, then I'd take a shower, lie there for a while, make breakfast, and go on with my day. Being in La Push again made that dream scare the crap out of me, though. How pathetic; I was a twenty-year-old woman who still got scared from bad dreams.

After sitting next to my phone for an hour, I finally dialed Sam's number (he'd given it to me when he drove me home). It wasn't till the phone had rung twice that I realized the late hour, but before I could hang up, the line picked up on the third ring.

"Hello?" Sam's deep voice asked. He didn't sound the least bit tired, even though I was calling him at five in the morning.

"Um, hey, Sam, it's Giana," I mumbled sheepishly.

_Fuck, it was a really stupid idea to call him,_ I thought, _I mean, what was I thinking? It's five o'clock in the fucking morning. _

"Is something wrong?" he asked. "It's kind of early."

"Oh, um, yeah, I…couldn't sleep, and-I-don't-know-why-I-called-you-and-you-probably-don't-want-to-be-bothered-by-me-at-five-in-the-morning, so, um, never mind."

"I wasn't sleeping anyway. Are you okay, though?"

"Um, sort of—no, not really. Look, I—"

"Do you want me to come over?"

"I don't want to bother you—"

"You're not bothering me. I can be there in a few minutes if you want."

"Uh, can you?"

"Of course. I'll be there in five minutes, alright?"

"Okay. Thanks, Sam."

And the line went dead. I sat there on my bed, deep in thought. I couldn't believe that Sam actually wanted to leave his house at five in the morning just because I couldn't sleep. It was unfathomable to me. I didn't understand why he would actually care. Then again, he probably just thought of me as some confused kid with a dead dad.

Just like he said, Sam was knocking on my front door in only a few minutes. I reluctantly left the warm safety of my bed to let him in.

"Are you okay?" were the first words out of his mouth as he stepped through the door.

I shrugged. "I'm not so sure, really."

Sam looked worse than I felt, honestly. He had only left me hours ago, but he looked so different now. His short hair was messy, as if he'd been pulling at it for the past few hours. His gorgeous eyes were sullen in like he needed a good ten hours of sleep, at least, and he appeared as though he had been crying. Wait, _crying? _

"Are _you_ okay, though?" I asked.

"I'm not so sure, really," he mocked.

"Sam, I'm being serious."

He just smiled, but I could see the sadness in it. "So am I."

I sighed. "Well, thank you…for coming over, I mean. Um, do you want anything to eat?"

"Its fine, but you need to calm down a bit, Gi. You're freaking out. And you shouldn't be walking on that leg."

With that, he proceeded to scoop me up in his arms like he had earlier at the beach. I chuckled.

"You know, you'll fuck up your back if you keep carrying me around," I teased.

"Oh, yeah, because you weigh _so_ much. You know, you'll fuck up your leg if you keep walking around like that."

I chuckled. He carried me back to my room and set me on the bed. I looked up at him sheepishly.

"You can leave if you want, you know," I mumbled.

"Now, why would I do that?" he asked rhetorically. "I just got here."

"Because it's five in the fucking morning. And you look like shit."

"Thanks, Giana. You look great, too."

"I'm sorry, but you're really not looking too great, Sam. What the fuck happened in the last few hours?"

He just looked off into space with a gloomy expression on the gorgeous face of his. I instantly backed off. Something had to have happened, but whatever it was, it wasn't my place to ask.

"Sorry," I apologized. "Um, I shouldn't have…Do you want to take a nap?"

He chuckled, though I sensed no humor in it. "You worry too much. Calm down a bit. Besides, _you _look like you need a nap, not me. Get some rest, Gi."

I shook my head. "I'm not gonna' fall asleep again."

"So I should? Yeah, that makes sense…So, what are you gonna' do to this place, anyway?"

"I'm putting it back just like I remember it. Well, except for the bedrooms. I took the master, so I'm just going to make my old room a guest room."

"So you're basically changing everything?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Which is why I haven't unpacked yet."

"Sure it is."

I laughed. "It is."

"Hey, Paul and Jared decided to have a barbeque tonight, and I was wondering if you wanted to come over?"

"Holy crap, _yeah_! I haven't been able to have a real barbeque in years. You don't mind if I help cook, do you?"

"No, of course not. Actually, Paul and Jared will love you for that."

"Well, I'm happy to feel loved. I haven't cooked for in anyone in ages; I miss it."

"Well, if you _really_ want to feel loved, you can make me some breakfast."

"Hmm…I'll have to think about that one…"

"_Pleeeaassee?" _He looked up at me with one of those puppy pouts on his face; he reminded me of a stubborn child begging for what he wanted. Well, a tie between that and a sad puppy.

I let out a long fake sigh. "Fine. But you have to carry me there."

He cracked a huge smile and scooped me up in his arms. I laughed as he sat me down on the counter top.

"What do you want for breakfast?" I asked.

"Hmm…eggs and bacon," he replied, that smile still on his face.

"Okay, well, I don't exactly have any food, so…"

"You can cook at my place."

With that, he disappeared momentarily, only to return again with my big ass leg brace in his hands. He gently clamped and hooked it around my leg. I grimaced.

"I hate this thing," I grumbled.

"Well you shouldn't have gotten hurt then," he teased.

I just stuck my tongue out at him, to which he chuckled.

"So, do we have to drive to your place?" I asked as I hopped down from the counter and started hobbling towards the door.

"Don't you want to put some clothes on?" he asked.

I looked down at what I was wearing: a pair of silky shorts from Victoria's Secret that ended just below my ass and a dark grey V-neck shirt with Native American designs on it. And no shoes.

"Nah, I'm good," I decided.

He leaned over me and opened the front door.

"I'll drive your truck," Sam told me. "You shouldn't drive."

"How'd you get here so quick if you just walked?"

"I don't live too far away."

"Then we can walk."

"I don't want to put you in pain."

"Sam, you worry too much."

"Well, that sounds familiar, doesn't it?"'

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, just get in the truck."

I tossed him my keys and continued to limp to my truck, trying my best to ignore the shooting pain that went through my leg with every step I took. I finally managed to hobble into the passenger's seat. The drive to Sam's house was pretty short, but that was mainly because everything was close to everything in La Push. When we got there, he helped me out of the truck and into the house.

"Sa-am," Jared's barely familiar voice whined, "You need to answer your fucking messages."

I chuckled quietly. Jared reminded me of a little girl.

"Giana?" Paul and Jared asked in unison.

Jared ran out of the living room with an Xbox controller in his hand as Paul ran out of the kitchen with a hotdog hanging out of his mouth. They met in the middle in the threshold where Sam and I now stood. I couldn't help but laugh at the looks on their faces.

"You two look shocked," I teased.

"Um, _we are_!" Jared exclaimed.

"You know, this _is_ my house still," Sam scolded.

"Yeah but we practically live here," Paul put in.

"Yeah, it's hard not to notice….So, guess what?"

"What?" they asked together.

"Gia agreed to cook breakfast for you fat asses."

"Really?" They looked to me.

"Sure, sure," I snickered, heading towards the kitchen.

Paul and Jared played games on the Xbox while I prepared their breakfast. Sam told me to just cook the whole carton of eggs, that they'd eat all of them. I laughed.

"This was just all a plan of yours to get me to cook for your friends, wasn't it?" I teased.

"Oh, yes," he joked. "You caught me. I'm just too lazy to cook for them."

I laughed again. "So, why do they practically live here?"

"They're my half-brothers."

"Seriously? Hmm, I guess you look alike. Are you guys seriously gonna' eat a dozen eggs?"

"You're gonna' eat some, too."

It was so easy to just let myself go with Sam. I could laugh so easily around him. I didn't understand it, but there was just something different about Sam. I liked it, though.

"Besides," he continued, "You have to practice cooking for tonight."

"Oh really?"

"Oh yeah. Those guys can eat _forever_."

"I bet you can, too."

"Are you calling me fat?"

"Hey, Giana!" Paul and Jared called.

"What?" I called back.

"Did you know Sam's gay?"

Sam's face tinted red under his golden skin as I laughed. He ran into the living room where they were, and I could vaguely hear their arguing.

"Food's ready, boys!" I called. "Stop fighting!"

They were all in the kitchen, crowding around me, in seconds.

"Sit down," I scolded. "Pigs."

They all reluctantly sat down at the table. I snickered as I set the food down in the center. The three men attacked the food as if it were their last meal. By the time I sat down next to Sam, there was only a single piece of bacon left.

"Yeah, Sam, you should eat more," I teased. "I mean, you have hardly any food on that plate."

His plate was piled high with bacon and eggs, and two pieces of bacon were hanging out of his mouth. He swallowed his food.

"Want some?" he asked sheepishly.

I chuckled. "I'm fine."

I nibbled my bacon while the boys wolfed down the rest of the food as if it were their last meal.

"You guys are gonna' get fat as fuck one day," I joked.

"Nah, we have fast metabolism," Jared said after he swallowed down a huge bite of food.

"Sure, sure. But by the time you're sixty, you guys will be rolling around everywhere."

"Aw, Gia," Sam whined, "That hurts."

"Holy crap, Sam," Paul began, "You have emotions."

This caused Sam to stop eating and glare over at Paul. If looks could kill, Paul would definitely have been dead in seconds.

"You know, you shouldn't be a jackass; it's not attractive," I put in, looking over to Paul.

This seemed to lighten the mood a bit. Jared barked out a laugh, and Sam even snickered.

"You know, you shouldn't be a cripple; it's not attractive," Paul teased back, not missing a beat.

"Oh, boy, you know I'm more attractive than you."

"Yeah, right."

"All you have is abs. I have tits. I win."

This caused everyone, even Paul, to laugh to the point of tears. I snickered.

After the guys finally finished eating, Sam offered to wash the dishes. I quickly agreed. I mean, hell, it was six in the morning. Besides, I cooked, he can clean. I limped into the living room to join Paul and Jared, who were too busy killing one another in _Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 _to notice me walk in. I plopped down on the couch next to Paul and unhooked my brace.

In the game, Jared was hiding above Paul, waiting for the perfect moment to go for the kill. Paul obviously didn't notice that Jared was sniping.

"Hey, Paul, Jared's right there," I said, pointing to where Jared was hiding on the screen.

Paul aimed and shot quickly, killing Jared with a head shot.

"Giana!" Jared whined. "That was so not cool."

Paul laughed and high-fived me.

"So, now that you two amateurs are done playing," I said, "Can I show you how it's really done?"

**a/n- so i'm sorry that it has taken me so long to update. i only just realized that i havent updated, in forever. sorry! things have been hectic, with physical therapy, job hunting, and school. but this week is my spring break, so i thought i'd update before leaving for vegas. -jess **

**ps.- r&r? **


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